European Justice confirms the ban on providing legal advice to the Kremlin and entities in Russia

BRUSSELS, Oct. 2 () –

The General Court of the European Union confirmed this Wednesday the ban on providing legal advice to the Kremlin and legal entities established in Russia, noting that there are exceptions that guarantee that the measure does not violate the right to effective judicial protection.

The EU sanctions in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine include the prohibition of providing legal advisory services to the Russian Government and legal persons, entities and organizations established in Russia, a matter that was brought before the European Justice by associations of Belgian lawyers.

The plaintiffs understood that the prohibition is not motivated and violates the fundamental rights that guarantee access to legal advice from a lawyer, as well as principles of legal certainty.

Now in a ruling, the General Court rejects the appeals presented by these associations and emphasizes that the prohibition only applies to legal advice that is not related to a judicial procedure, so the right to judicial protection is guaranteed. “Legal advice provided to natural persons, in particular, is outside the scope of application of the prohibition,” clarifies the ruling, which emphasizes that the measure does not affect natural persons.

Thus, the European Court considers that the sanctions do not in themselves imply interference with the protection of the lawyer’s professional secrecy or his independence, since the measure does not apply to advisory services in relation to any judicial procedure.

The mission of lawyers to respect and defend the rule of law “may be subject to limitations” when objectives of general interest of the EU are pursued, “as long as they do not constitute a disproportionate and intolerable intervention,” underlines the General Court. In this specific case, the sanctions are delimited by the exception and exemption provisions and the prohibition pursues objectives of general interest, “without affecting the very essence of the fundamental mission of lawyers in a democratic society.”